Excavators



A. J. KELLY Nov. 10, 1964 EXCAVATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 23, 1962Nov. 10, 1964 A. J. KELLY 3,156,488

' EXCAVATORS Filed May 23, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Avveu me United StatesPatent 3,156,488 EXCAVATORS Alec J. Kelly, Uttoxeter, England, assignorto J. C. Bamford (Excavators) Limited, Uttoxeter, England, a Britishcompany Filed May 23, 1962, Ser. No. 197,821 3 Claims. (Cl. 280-456)This invention relates to excavators of the type, hereinafter referredto as the type specified, which are adapted for mounting at the front orrear, more usually at the rear, of a vehicle such as a tractor, theexcavator being mounted upon a slewing frame which is connected to thetractor or other vehicle and there being a king post mounted upon suchslewing frame for controlled movement about a vertical axis, the mainboom and operating ram for the main boom being pivotally connected tothe king post so that the excavator can be slewed about a vertical axisthrough a horizontal arc of approximately 90 to each side of thelongitudinal axis of the tractor.

Hitherto in the majority of cases, the king post has occupied a fixedposition on the longitudinal axis or centre line of the tractor, beingfixedly mounted upon the slewing frame, but it is advantageous undercertain conditions to be able to offset the king post to one side or theother of the longitudinal axis as, for example, when excavating a trenchalongside a wall or other obstacle.

There have been prior proposals in connection with excavators of thistype for mounting the king post upon the slewing frame in such mannerthat it can be removed and placed in one of a number of alternativepositions some of which positions are offset to one side or the other ofthe longitudinal centre line.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements inexcavators of this type which will permit of adjustment of the king postto any desired position within the transverse limits of the slewingframe and will also permit of utilization of the power means of theexcavator to facilitate adjusting the position of the king post whendesired.

According to the invention I provide an excavator of the type specified,wherein the slewing frame comprises a plurality of elongated guidemembers arranged horizontally in vertically spaced relationship toextend at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tractor or othervehicle and the king post is mounted in a bracket member which iscarried by said guide members and is capable of sliding movement uponthe guide members in directions at right angles to said axis, releasableclamping means being provided for fixedly clamping the bracket member inany desired position along the length of the guide members.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the slewing frame and bracketmember detached from the tractor and looking from a position at the rearof the tractor.

FIGURE 2 is a section through the slewing frame on the line 2-2 ofFIGURE 1 and showing the slewing frame mounted on the rear of thetractor.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a detail of the clamping means.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view from the rear showing the slewing frame.

As shown in the drawings the slewing frame is made up of a number ofhorizontal guide members extending between two upright posts 11 whichare conveniently formed to box section and the guide members themselvesmay also be formed as box section girders suitably welded at their endsto connect them between the upright posts.

The guide members are arranged horizontally in vertically spacedrelationship, there being two guide mem- "ice bers 12 and 13 connectednear the tops of the upright posts 11 and referred to as the top guidemembers and two more (14 and 15) near the bottom of the upright postsand referred to as the bottom guide members.

The upper and lower guide members 12 and 13 respectively, at the top andsimilarly the upper and lower guide members 14 and 15 respectively atthe bottom, are spaced apart by an equal amount so as to form top andbottom guide channels 16 and 17 which accommodate slidably, the clampingmeans, referred to hereinafter.

The slewing frame 10, so formed, is mounted on the rear of a tractor,one rear wheel 18 of the tractor being shown in FIGURE 2, by providing amounting frame upon the tractor chassis, said mounting frame having ateach side, upper and lower longitudinally extending frame members 19 and20 respectively, connected near their rear ends by vertically extendingframe members 21 and the slewing frame 10 being mounted upon the rearprojecting ends of these frame members 19 and 20, such as by welding theguide members of the slewing frame to the rear ends of the frame membersof the mounting frame.

The bracket member 22 which carries the king post 35 of the excavator,has a vertical rear portion 23 which is of flat plate-like form andsubstantial projecting lugs 24 and 25 at the top and at the bottomrespectively, the king post itself being pivotally mounted about avertical axis between these projecting lugs 24 and 25.

On each side edge of the flat vertical part 23 of the bracket memberthere are provided two transversely projecting ears 26 one near the topand one near the bottom, each ear being provided with a central apertureand the clamping means comprises a clamping assembly for cooperationwith the top set of guide members and a similar clamping assembly forco-operating with the bottom set of guide members.

Each clamping assembly (see FIGURES 2 and 3) comprises a fiat plate 27having projecting from one side face thereof, a pair of spaced apartstud members 28 the major part of the length of each stud member beingof plain cylindrical form and the end part 29 being of reduced diameterand being externally threaded. For the upper clamping assembly the twostud members 28 are spaced apart so that their axes correspond to theopenings in the two upper projecting ears 26 on the bracket member 22and the two stud members are passed between the upper and lower guidemembers 12 and 13 at the top so as to extend through the channel 16between these two guide members and have their threaded ends projectingthrough the openings in the two ears at the top of the bracket members.Suitable nuts 30 are then applied to the threaded ends of the studmembers and tightened down to clamp the bracket member 22 securelyagainst the guide members at the top. The same arrangement is applied atthe bottom of the bracket member, nuts being applied to the projectingends of the stud members here to clamp the bracket member at the bottom.

The rear face of the vertical flat part 23 of the bracket member isprovided with transversely extending horizontal ribs to engage with thehorizontal faces of the guide members to stabilise the bracket memberand assist in guiding it when it is moved longitudinally of the guidemembers. As shown, there are four such ribs, one rib 31 at the bottom ofthe bracket member to engage under the lowermost guide member 15 at thebottom and another rib 32 at the top of the bracket to engage above theuppermost guide member 12 at the top. Another rib 33 engages under thelowermost guide member 13 at the top and a further rib 34 engages abovethe uppermost guide member 14 at the bottom.

Also the cars 26 on the fiat part of the bracket member may haverearwardly projecting bosses 35 to engage slidably in the channels 16and 17 between the upper and lower guide members at the top and bottomof the slewing frame.

With this arrangement when the four clamping nuts are slackened off, thebracket member 22 carrying the king post can be slidden along the guidemembers at the top and bottom of the slewing frame.

With this arrangement when the four clamping nuts are slackened oil, thebracket member 22 carrying the king post can be slid along the guidemembers to any desired position and in practice this sliding movementcan be achieved by one or the other of two ways. The excavator bucketcan be lowered to the position where it engages the ground and then theslewing mechanism can be operated to cause movement of the bracketmember 22 or the excavator can be slewed until it is at 90 to the axisof the tractor and the bucket then lowered to engage the ground and thebracket member 22 caused to move by operating the digging arm of theexcavator. In this way the desired position can be achieved withoutmanual effort Whereafter the clamping nuts are tightened up and theexcavator is ready for use in its new position.

What I then claim is:

l. A slewing frame for an excavator of the type specified comprising, apair of spaced apart upright side members, a plurality of horizontallyarranged elongated guide members extending between said upri ht sidemembers, said guide members comprising, two upper guide members whichare spaced apart vertically to provide an upper guide channeltherebetween and two lower guide members which are spaced apartvertically to provide a lower guide channel therebetween, a bracketmember for carrying the king post of the excavator slidably mounted uponsaid guide members, and releasable clamping means disposed near the topand near the bottom of said bracket member, said clamping means beingengaged with said upper and lower guide channels for fixedly clampingthe bracket member in any desired position along the length of the guidemembers.

2. A slewing frame for an excavator of the type specitied comprising, apair of spaced apart upright side members, a plurality of horizontallyarranged elongated guide members extending between said upright sidemembers, said guide members comprising, two upper guide members whichare spaced apart vertically to provide an upper guide channeltherebetween and two lower guide members which are spaced apartvertically to provide a lower guide channel therebetween, a bracketmember for carrying the king post of the excavator slidably mounted uponsaid guide members, said bracket member having a pair of projecting earsnear the top and a pair near the bottom thereof, and releasable clampingmeans disposed near the top and near the bottom of said bracket member,each clamping means comprising a plate and a pair of spaced apart studmembers projecting from one face of the plate, said stud members beingconnected to the projecting ears on the bracket member and being engagedslidably in the upper and lower guide channels.

3. A slewing frame for an excavator of the type specilied comprising, apair of spaced apart upright side members, a plurality of horizontallyarranged elongated guide members extending between said upright sidemembers, said guide members comprising, two upper guide members whichare spaced apart vertically to provide an upper guide channeltherebetween and two lower guide members which are spaced apartvertically to provide a lower guide channel therebetween, a bracketmember for carrying the king post of the excavator slidably mounted uponsaid guide members, said bracket member comprising a flat plate locatedin a vertical plane, lugs projecting horizontally at the top and at thebottom of said plate for the mounting therebetween of the king post,ribs projecting horizontally from said plate in the opposite directionto said lugs and engaged slidably with said guide members, andreleasable clamping means dispose near the top and near the bottom ofsaid bracket member, said clamping means being engaged with said upperand lower guide channels for fixedly clamping the bracket member in anydesired position along the length of the guide members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,937,705 5/60Kirchner et a1. l72655 A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner.

1. A SLEWING FRAME FOR AN EXCAVATOR OF THE TYPE SPECIFIED COMPRISING, APAIR OF SPACED APART UPRIGHT SIDE MEMBERS, A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLYARRANGED ELONGATED GUIDE MEMBERS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID UPRIGHT SIDEMEMBERS, SAID GUIDE MEMBERS COMPRISING, TWO UPPER GUIDE MEMBERS WHICHARE SPACED APART VERTICALLY TO PROVIDE AN UPPER GUIDE CHANNELTHEREBETWEEN AND TWO LOWER GUIDE MEMBERS WHICH ARE SPACED APARTVERTICALLY TO PROVIDE AN LOWER GUIDE CHANNEL THEREBETWEEN, A BRACKETMEMBER FOR CARRYING THE KING POST OF THE EXCAVATOR SLIDABLY MOUNTED UPONSAID GUIDE MEMBERS, AND RELEASABLE CLAMPING MEANS DISPOSED NEAR THE TOPAND NEAR THE BOTTOM OF SAID BRACKET MEMBER, SAID CLAMPING MEANS BEINGENGAGED WITH SAID UPPER AND LOWER GUIDE CHANNELS FOR FIXEDLY CLAMPINGTHE BRACKET MEMBER IN ANY DESIRED POSITION ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE GUIDEMEMBERS.